


27 dresses

by Shadowdianne



Series: Prompts [30]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: And a bunch of many other characters, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-06
Updated: 2015-06-18
Packaged: 2018-04-03 04:03:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4085938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowdianne/pseuds/Shadowdianne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Asked by an anon on tumblr: Would you think about writing a version of 27 dresses with SQ? </p>
<p>One of the few things Regina Mills has very clear is that she loves weddings. Helping other to getting married is one thing that makes her smile and even if she has yet to be married she has hope that one day she will be the one going through the aisle.</p>
<p>When her younger sister Zelena arrives to New York and manages to seduce Regina’s boss who the brunette is secretly in love with Regina starts discovering a few things alongside with Emma Swan, the flirtatious and cynical journalist of the New York Journal that has made her personal goal to help the woman into seeing that the most pleasant thing in live is to say “no”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is going to have a rather three large parts and those three are going to be divided in some more manageable parts so I'm just going to drop this here and stat with the editing of the following one.
> 
> I don’t know if all parts are going to be as long as this one or what. I’m playing a little by ear here and I’m still adding a few scenes here and there since I wanted to also put Emma’s point of view into the story. All I can say is that Emma (Kev in the movie) has been changed a little bit and a few details had been added to help Regina’s character.  
> Apart from that Cassie’s lines (Regina’s friend in this case) haven’t been changed at all because EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF THEM ARE FUCKING GOLD AND I’M IN LOVE WITH HER CHARACTER, plus Mal being Cass was something that worked for me even before I had the rest figured out so there is that Xd
> 
> And that’s it. Back to one particular steamy scene that wasn’t in the movie but I’m seriously thinking on including it…

_I’ve always been very sure about what I’m good at. About what I love._

_Everything started when I attended the wedding of a long distant relative and being the first family gathering since my mother’s dead was something that made both me and my father very nervous. Not Zel of course since she always had a bright disposition of merely be her and… shine. But my father was nervous and so was I._

_I guess I need to explain myself better…_

Large groups of people that Regina had never met whispered and talked between them, talking and gossiping about people that the girl had yet to meet or that they hadn’t simply showed up to the wedding. It was a fairly beautiful wedding, the brunette girl decided, even if she was feeling a little bit bored.

Frowning, the eight year old girl looked at the way her little sister moved on her seat a few benches in front of her. Walking quickly towards both the red-head and her father she smiled to a few old relatives that she recognized and, docking what was going to probably be a new round of kisses and vague words about how much she had grown up in the last year she reached the bench where her troubled father was trying to help Zelena to tie the knot of her purple bow.

Henry was a kind man, one that was always ready to make other people smile. The little shop he had opened a few years before the birth of Regina was always full of people ready to talk with her. He would never be rich but he had always one of the sweetest dispositions Regina had ever met in her short life (And that she was going to meet in the future years)

Unfortunately, the smile of the man had been tampered for the loss of his wife; a woman completely different and yet his equalizer in many things. With her gone due to a terrible and rather quick, cancer the man was now alone with two little girls.

Truth was that Henry was a really decent man and maybe in any other circumstances he would have been able to spot the problem that was going to develop in the next few years inside both of sisters. However, when Regina grabbed his hands gently and proceeded to tie the bow as perfectly as she could he merely smiled and nodded her thanks to the eldest daughter while his youngest bounced happily.

“Dad, can you go with me to the bathroom? I need to pee” The little red-head turned her bright eyes towards his father and Henry found himself at a complete loss of words. He had never been into a woman’s bathroom, not since his fourth grade when he had lost a bet and now he started to wonder if the correct thing would be to bring the girl with him towards the men’s bathroom. Would that been appropriate?

Regina felt the doubts of her father and sighed. Ever since her mother death she had tried to help as much as she could in the house. She missed her mother terribly and more than a few times she had found herself crying until sleep overcame her but she had also learnt that her father needed help. She was the eldest after all, the one who had been grabbing her father’s hand when her mother had finally died. Zelena had cried while crouching next to the woman but Regina had had only eyes for her father.

And so, with a dubious look but trying to appear as confident as she tried to look she turned towards Zelena and said “I will go with you Zel”

The red-head shrugged and nodded, too young to understand everything that had happened in the blink of an eye between her sister and her father. Bouncing a little excitedly due to the few sweets she had already eaten she run down the aisle while dodging the relatives that were still talking as they waited for the bride to appear.

The girls entered in the women’s bathroom and after explaining her sister how she needed to do everything properly Regina exited the place, moving towards a little room near the entrance of the chapel from where supposedly, the bride was about to exit. The girl knew that it was bad luck to see the bride before the wedding (Or was it that only for the groom?) but she was rather curious to see her cousin in such a white dress.  After her mother’s death her father had put the wedding photo of the two of them back into the junk room, unable to look at it, and the brunette had rescued the photo looking at her every night before falling asleep. The wedding dress her mother had worn had been truly beautiful and a part of Regina wanted to see if her cousin could be as half as beautiful as her mother had be.

Unfortunately when she finally sat and waited for her cousin to appear said woman approached the whole body mirror in the middle of the room and cursed, making the young girl giggle a little.

“Regina” The woman whispered as she turned. The girl and her sister were still a gossip between some of the family circle due to Cora’s death and the bride gulped, feeling slightly uneasy. “Don’t tell your father that I’ve said that”

The brunette shook her head and in the flippant tone that many children used she shrugged quickly “Don’t worry, we have cable”

The bride blinked, not quite sure if she had understood what the young girl had tried to explain with that bit but deciding that it was the best answer she was going to get she cursed once again, showing Regina the problem that had made her curse in the first place in the process; a hole in the white dress.

Regina wasn’t sure how the hole could have been made but she had the distinct feeling that her cousin wasn’t supposed to marry like that.

A little set of feet made both of them, bride and girl, turn her heads and look at a now smiling Zelena that, with her green bow starting to move a little more than it should have were looking at them blinking and smiling at her sister, her lips opening a but never uttering a word.

Maybe it had been Regina’s need in that moment to make everything go as smooth as possible to help her father forget a little about the sadness and the fact that he had been married until a few months ago but the little brunette smiled, an idea starting to form inside her head.

Not more than five minutes later her cousin’s backside was half covered with Zelena’s bow, the emerald green of the bow going nicely with the marble white of the dress. Feeling her heart swelling with pride at the notion that she had not only helped in the wedding but to her cousin as well while helping her father created a big smile on Regina’s face and when her cousin offered the girl to carry the train she nodded excitedly feeling as happiest as ever.

That had been the moment when, as she walked down the aisle, Regina Mills had discovered what she wanted to do for a living; Make other brides like her cousin as happy as possible.

And so our story begins 20-oddyears later in New York City.

* * *

 

The light in the changing room was soft and gentle and helped to make the pure white dress to glow on the many folds it had making Regina’s soft dark skin along with her brunette hair and brown chocolate eyes to shine dramatically.

The woman smiled shyly at her own reflection, noticing the creases on the wedding gown and the way it adjusted her body.

Almost as if it was made for her like the different saleswoman were saying once and again as they openly looked at the effect of Regina in that wedding dress and Regina may would have believed them if not for the fact that she knew it wasn’t made for her.

She wasn’t going to be jealous though, this wasn’t her day and so she smiled and nodded, touching the fabric of the dress and nodding to herself once again, the details of the dress were amazing but not too overly dramatic like Suzanne had wanted to make them be at first.

She was about to make another twirl in front of the mirror when a third saleswoman approached her with a cellphone. Regina’s were in her purse, too far to reach in her actual predicament and she smiled gently to the approaching woman.

“It’s the bride” The woman, Barbara if she read her tag correctly, said in a whisper before handing Regina the cellphone. One she caught promptly as she looked at the mirror with an affirmative nod.

“Suzanne? Yes, the dress is ready, don’t worry fortunately we both have the same size”

Suzanne at the other side sighed completely relieved, it had been a complete hectic day and after her mother’s tantrum for being paired up with a sister in the reception after the wedding it had been impossible for her to appear at the shop in time to pick up her dress.

“Thank you Gina” She replied, looking at her mother from the corner of her eye. “You are a life saver”

At the other side the brunette’s eyes narrowed a little at the use of the nickname but kept smiling.

In the years between the first wedding she had ever attended and the many others that had followed she had learnt to be patient with the brides and let them know she had everything covered. It was her passion; making other people happy and so even if sometimes she found herself wanting to said something witty to a friend that knew perfectly well how much she hated her nickname she only kept nodding and informing her about the last minute details of the dress.

With a click the call was ended and Regina found herself free to dress with the purple dress Suzanne had picked up for her.

While she was dressing and applying the light make up she was going to use during all night she glanced at the white bag in one corner of the changing room while biting her lower lip with nervousness.

She loved weddings, helping others. It was something that had made her incredibly happy once and during all those years she had never been any more exhilarated when she saw one of her friends getting not only married but with everything around them as perfect as it could be.

Adding the last touch to her lips with the lipstick and nodding towards her reflection she turned and opened the door of the little room, smiling politely to a young couple apparently searching for the perfect dress. Smiling indulgently towards the young man that seemed completely lost in a sea of pearly white she went towards the cashier, gave them Suzanne’s name and waited for a few minutes before being able to exit the shop with the wedding gown and her white bag firmly clasped on her hands.

She growled inwardly once she was outside, the strong sun making her squint her eyes a little as she maneuvered between the mass of people that walked up and down the street. Glancing worriedly towards her watch she sighed once she arrived at one little corner, mentally registering that she had indeed brought everything she needed.

“Hello” A soft voice sounded at her back, making the woman jump and turn nervously looking at her best friend.

Mal was completely astonishing in her own purple dress, her soft dirty blonde hair in a poorly made updo and with her right brow raised in her trademark perpetual look of incredulity.

Both women were complete opposites in many things but Mal was the only one that knew the quirkest side of Regina, one that even the brunette was usually unaware that she had it in her even if Mal always tried to push to make the “little monster” free as she liked to put it.

“You are here” Regina said, hugging her friend tightly and looking at her once they moved back. The dress looked almost painted on the woman’s body but that was something that Mal managed to make with each dress, no matter how horrible or ill-fitting it was.  “It’s my superpower” She had said once well into her fourth glass of the night in some random bar that had made Regina accompany her while trying to hook up with some random boys she had met a few hours before “I always look well, no matter what”

And over the years Regina had learnt to trust her since it didn’t matter what kind of clothes Mal was wearing, it always looked perfect.

Right now, however, the way her friend’s hair was done wasn’t exactly as perfect as Regina (Or Suzanne) would prefer and Regina pointed at it while turning and starting to walk the last block, mentally jumping as she realized that they were, in fact, early.

“Your hair…” She started, making Mal scoff at that.

“What? The bitch said up and it’s up”

The brunette rolled her eyes and shrugged, making the contents of the white box move a little.

“Ok, I will help you once we are inside” She said, carefully moving the bag while trying not to spill its contents all over some random street on the middle of New York City.

“What’s all that stuff?” Mal asked, pointing at the bag.

“Just hurry” Regina replied, gulping loudly not wanting to give any more information to her friend. Mal looked at her suspiciously but didn’t push, knowing that if she tried to make Regina said anything the curvaceous brunette didn’t want to say the brunette would only close herself and deny everything from that on.

Both women entered just in time to see the bride’s about to have an open discussion with both her mother and her grandmother while the rest of the bridesmaids were trying to calm her down.

It took approximately a good ten minutes before the guests started to arrive to make the bride calm enough to be able to start the photos, something that made Mal bored and Regina nervous.

“The best thing is that you can cut the dresses and wear them again” Suzanne said into a whisper pointing at the purple dresses with a big smile on her face much more relaxed after what Regina was pretty sure that it hadn’t been water like Mal had promised.

“That’s definitely true” She answered back, elbowing Mal when the photographer asked for a group photo.

While the whole pack of bridesmaids and the bride finished with the photos a particular blonde entered in the church. Starting to mentally do some notes about the details of not only the wedding but the way everything was arranged the woman huffed a little as she waved to a few people she already recognized. Her notes were mechanical and made with a smirk as she nodded politely and ruffled the children’s head if they ever came near her.

She was dressed in a dark grey jacket and fitting trousers that made a few elders look at her questioningly but Emma Swan didn’t bother in looking at them, bored out of her mind already.

“One day…” She promised herself while looking at the door of the church and sighing inwardly. She was good on her job but that didn’t mean that she liked and siting in the first bench she found still slightly empty she stifled a yawn knowing that she was going to be there for the next hours unable to escape from another wedding.

“Fun how everything played out for you Swan” She muttered to herself, blinking and jumping slightly when the music started to play, the bridesmaids and the braid herself crossing the aisle.

As she usually did she didn’t turn her head, smiling bitterly for a second as she looked at the completely enamored groom.

Meanwhile, on the bridesmaids’ line the fourth of them smiled brightly and positioned themselves on the brides’ side. Regina grabbed carefully Suzanne’s bucket with one hand as she hold her own with the other. Mal snorted and said something at her back but Regina couldn’t turn and look at her friends quizzically as the ceremony started, the guests standing up and a few of them starting to tear up with it.

That moment was always one of Regina’s favorites and, while over the years she had perfectioned her love for a few things about the weddings the moment in which everything started always made her feel like a young girl all over again. Forgetting about her nerves for a second she sighed and cooed like the rest of the church except Mal at the soon-to-be-married couple.

However, the nerves returned rather quickly as she realized that the woman who was officiating the ceremony was going slower than what she had thought. Mentally thinking about how much she was going to lose she glanced at her watch, making Mal look at her with furrowed brows and a particular blonde almost in the verge of sleeping who frowned as she saw the little bit lip the brunette maid of honor did after looking at the hour.

“Strange…” Emma said to herself, she didn’t remember the name of the woman since she had been invited and asked to do the article from the groom’s side so she hadn’t really do an exhaustive search of all the bridesmaids but as far as she could recall Greg had talked wonders about all the friends of her soon-to-be-wife. Perhaps the brunette was nervous?

The ceremony ended ten minutes after that and Regina smiled quickly at Mal who was already looking for any eligible bachelor on the wedding and left, nearly coming across some groups and rising her hand, promptly calling a taxi.

“Tell you what” She said once the door of the car was closed “I will give you 300 dollars at the end of the night with only one condition”

The man who was driving the taxi blinked and turned, looking at her from his sit “What condition?”

Smirking a little she pointed in front of her “Every time you turn around and peek I will discount 20 dollars, ok?”

The man blinked once again, his eyes looking and up and down the brunette woman as Regina fumbled with the white box and started to search for the zipper of her dress.

“280” She chanted, laughing a little when the man grumbled and murmured a quick “No one’s looking”

Mal was right in one thing; sometimes she had a little evil streak.

//

The sari was rather easy to put on but Regina fumbled a little bit with the rest of accessories, sighing happily when she finished with her high heels seconds before the taxi stopped in front of the second wedding. Walking as quick as possible and smiling briefly to the few people that recognized her she gave another bride’s maid one of the little thingies as the woman had said before turning to look at Shari. The woman was completely fabulous and, albeit nervous, she had that glow of utter happiness that made Regina sigh a little every time she got to witness that.

“The best thing is that you can cut them and wear them again” The other woman said and as she positioned herself on the line Regina nodded quickly, muttering the already practiced answer as the maids started to walk down the aisle.

The ceremony itself was much quicker than the first one and albeit she felt rather lost quite a few times Regina enjoyed the vows in which she let herself smile and laugh a little alongside with the closer friends of Shari.

This time the taxi driver didn’t ask where they were going albeit he tried to look quite a few times over the rear mirror. The woman rolled her eyes and growled each time, letting him known that she was, in fact, counting how much money she was already discounting. She hated her actual predicament but, as the taxi moved faster between the numerous cars on New York she knew that she really hadn’t had any other option.

“You are down to 260” She said in a stern voice, one she barely use it “Are you sure you want to keep this up?”

The driver sighed and straightened on his seat once again. “No” He replied while grumbling, making Regina hum and nod to herself.

“You should have told them that you were going to be busy” A voice that looked like Mal’s echoed on her mind for a second as the taxi halted in front of the reception place. Forgetting her inner discussions Regina stood and closed the door of the taxi, glaring to the driver while doing it. The woman let herself admire a little the architecture of the place before entering, smiling and grabbing a Champaign flute before sitting next to Mal who was already down to her fourth if the empty glasses in front of her were a signal of something.

Still straightening her dress she sat, not seeing the curious green eyes of a certain reporter at the other side of the room.

“Which one do you want, the brunet or the blond?” Mal’s voice said at her left while she tried to make the dress look as if she had had it for the whole evening. Regina looked in front of her, eyeing the two men Mal was pointing at with a ravenous expression.

Regina rolled her eyes, she knew that her friend’s morale wasn’t precisely white and black so it was always interesting seeing her while trying to approach to someone, man or woman.

“I kind want the blond, I’m not going to lie” Mal kept going, looking at her from the corner of her eyes as she sipped lazily from another flute. Her eyes were sparkling with mischievousness and Regina sighed, knowing full well where her friend was going with that particular innuendo.

“Mal” She started “Can’t you keep in your pants for one wedding?” The last word was dragged as she recalled that she was indeed going to need to go in less than fifteen minutes if she wanted to be for the other reception at a reasonable time.

“Are you kidding?” The other woman replied, sighing and letting the conversation drop for that time being “The only reason why I ever accept to wear this monsters dresses is to find some groomsmen who can rip it to shreds with his teeth, or women, I’m not that picky”

Regina felt the corners of her lips curling and turned towards her food, betting to herself that Mal was going to probably end up with the blond at the end of the reception some way or another.

Meanwhile, from the other side of the room in a table full of strangers, Emma was still looking at the maid of honor. Narrowing her eyes she noticed the way she smiled towards another bridesmaid. This one seemed to be looking at someone and Emma laughed a little to herself when she saw that whoever the woman was she was pointing to some of the groomsmen. As far as she knew the brunet was gay so, glancing back at her plate, she tried to fight back another smile already blossoming on her face. The maid of honor was still something that held her mild interested and since she hadn’t really anything interesting to do she almost groaned out loud when her phone vibrated.

She didn’t even bother to answer the call inside the room since she already knew from experience that it almost never worked with the mix of different voices and many other phones working at the same time. Muttering a quick excuse that nobody heard she stood and walked towards the door, looking at the spot in where the maid of honor had been a few seconds before.

The place was now empty but the other bridesmaid seemed to be trying to make the two men she had been looking before get closer to her. Scoffing, Emma answered the call, groaning as she heard one of her best friend’s voice laughing at the other side of the line.

“Having fun?” Will’s accented voice echoed on her phone making her smile even if she hated the man little.

“What time it is?” She asked, groaning when the English man answered with mirth lacing her words.

“Well, I’m going to be here for at least two more hours so…” She started, ready to simply ask Will to pick her later and help her getting a hangover. Every time she was in a wedding she had the same need to just drink and not look back and she failed every single time she tried not to do precisely that.

She was in the middle of asking for her death when the brunette woman from earlier run past her, almost stepping on her toes while doing it. Frowning and putting Will on wait she walked towards her, seeing how the woman entered in a cab that seemed to be waiting for her and left leaving Emma quite interested and slightly puzzled when she saw how the brunette undressed herself in one quick movement letting Emma see a perfect sight of the black and red thong she wore.

“Uh… Will, I will call you back” She said slightly dazzled and much more intrigued.

_“Who is this woman?”_

For Regina the rest of the night was a haze between the two weddings, the music, dinner and talk with the different relatives of the two brides blended up together leaving her with the feeling that she was in only one big wedding. When she even didn’t change her shoes and it was Peter, the driver, the one who gave them to her she only laughed a little, boring holes on the man’s eyes only to make him remember that she was currently down to 200.

Being truthful the brunette was slowly exhausting herself and quite a few times she wished for the time to pass quicker but she wanted to grasp the feeling of others being happy. She was a true romantic, that was what her mother had told her once and again when she had been barely seven and still too young to understand completely why the woman was on a bed looking at her with fading brown eyes. She was a true romantic and her mother had been adamant that she needed to keep it like that.

Sighing and blushing she received the gratitude of Shari and left; arriving at the other wedding in the exact moment when the happy couple shoved the cake into each other’s mouths. Mal was already disappeared and the blonde guy she had been looking at earlier seemed also to be suspiciously gone so she rushed towards where the bridesmaids were.

Meanwhile Emma was already finishing with her questions towards the guests of the party and she was as close enough to discover who the woman was as before.

“She has a great butt” Her mind provided making her pale skin blush a little under the lights of the ballroom. It was true and the rest of the brunette’s body looked as beautiful as the scantly clothed backside she had witnessed earlier but she didn’t want to meet the woman that way. Not yet anyway.

Sighing and fumbling with the information she had already gathered about her she took a few other notes of the wedding just in case her boss asked about it and sat while the bride started her speech

That was another thing she couldn’t stand for, those speeches. The vows were always a stab into her heart but the final ones, the ones that pointed the beginning of the end were even more painful.

She was already calling one of the waitresses when the bride finished her speech with a smile and a pointed finger looking sorely to one particular brunette, one short curvaceous brunette that Emma recognized from behind.

“Thanks Gina”

It seemed like the woman was called Gina, at least now she had the information she had wanted although she really didn’t understood her desire to know something that, at the end wasn’t going to help her with anything.

“Game over” She mumbled, scratching the back of her head and fighting another yawn. A part of her mind wondered if the woman was Italian due to the name and the looks but she stopped that thought as soon as it appeared on her mind. “Don’t start going there Swan” She chastised herself.

Frowning, she raised from her seat when she heard a thump and a few voices rising from different places of the room. Apparently something had happened and, due to her curiosity she rose, narrowing her eyes when she saw the rather big group in the middle of the packed ballroom.

//

Regina opened her eyes slowly and for a second she repressed the need to gran as a large headache started immediately to form behind her eyes. Her eyes were still slightly unfocused but she could see a pair of incredibly deep green eyes that were looking at her framed by what looked like a halo of golden hair and pale skin.

As her vision focused she could see that whatever who was looking at her was a woman. One that she didn’t recognized. However, before she could ever start to understand what had happened two very well-known faces appeared at the back of the mysterious woman’s head and asked worriedly in high pitched voices if she was ok. Unable to answer she let the blonde woman address the problem as she recalled what had happened minutes before.

The bouquet had been thrown and she had finally managed to get in the middle of it. Truth was Regina had never believed in the whole myth behind the bouquet or the saying that framed her as the eternal bridesmaid but when she had almost touched the bouquet she had smiled, starting to feel a flutter of hope inside of her.

Then, someone pushing her and a crash against the hard wooden floor of the ballroom were the next thing she could recall.

“Don’t worry, it’s only a bump in the head” The blonde woman was saying in that moment with a charming smile towards the few people who were still trying to see if she was ok. Mal was still missing so Regina was assumed that she had left and, looking at the blonde woman who was holding her as she looked at her with worried eyes she blushed a little and nodded trying to clean her mind.

“Are you a doctor?” She asked and for a second Regina felt bad because of the shakiness of her voice. Between the two weddings and the bump she felt rather shaky and the dizziness that was still on the back of her head added to the violent headache she was experimenting was starting to make a toll on her.

The blonde, who she still couldn’t say who she was, smiled sheepishly at the question and shook her head once.

“The other two girls were being rather pushy” She finally explained and Regina almost smiled at that. She had barely had any type of conversation with Suzanne’s sisters but as far as she knew the women were exactly that; pushy. “I’m Emma by the way. Are you feeling ok? I can carry you to a doctor”

The woman’s accent was something that Regina couldn’t place so she let it pass as she muttered a soft no and tried to stand up, her knees starting to tremble a little under her own weight.

“I’m Regina” She muttered before being held tightly against the stranger once again

“Easy there then Regina” The woman whispered slowly, taking little steps towards the doors of the reception place. A part of Regina wanted to stay but she was feeling weak enough to admit the help of a total stranger so she let Emma aid her with getting into Peter’s taxi and ride far away from the now almost finished ceremony.

The taxi ride was far from eventful until Regina’s head stopped to spin and she started to feel that she could say more than two words in one sentence.

“So” The blonde said after a bit of an awkward silence in the middle of a friday night in New York City “I… loved your thong”

Emma wanted to slap herself for the words but when Regina looked at her from the other side of the backseat with a look that screamed for help she laughed awkwardly and shrugged “I saw you changing gowns the second time you crossed from one party to the other” Frowning, the blonde tilted her head and looked towards the now ashamed brunette “Have you been in two weddings in one night?”

Emma knew that she was being noisy and giving that they still didn’t know if Regina was really well enough to answer questions she felt a little like an asshole. The most rational thing would have been drop the whole issue but when he brunette moved nervously on her seat for a second before looking at the residential area they were now crossing in Emma couldn’t help but smirk a little due to Regina’s reaction.

“They are two really good friends of mine and it happened that they had her wedding the same day.” The brunette said clutching her bag against her chest. “What would you have suggested?”

Emma blinked, as far as she knew the weddings were a complete torture; she couldn’t even fathom the idea of assisting two at the same time.

“It’s not a little… unsettling?” She had encountered women and men alike who loved the wedding they were going to assist, sure, but never a person who not only enjoyed the weddings but as up to actually go to two at once. “Two weddings at the same time I mean”

From her side of the taxi Regina felt her whole body tense up. She was a rather calm person but the way the blonde at her side had asked her about the weddings had made her feel a little insecure and so she answered as cold as could “I love weddings, I always have”

Emma blinked again and smiled a little, her curious side getting the better off her once again “Why do you like most? The horrible music or the forced merriment?”

When the woman at her side stiffened she realized that her tone hadn’t caused the effect she was hoping for and winced when the retort came quickly.

“Actually it’s meeting upbeat people like you”

The words stung and Emma sucked on her breath, trying to make the other woman see her point even if she wasn’t sure what her point had been in the first place.

“Love is patient, love is kind” She quoted making the other woman snort.

“What did you say you were?” Regina asked back, her eyes narrowing until they were little slits of chocolate brown glinting under the lights that sipped through the window from the city.

“A writer” Emma replied, smiling a little when she heard the quiet hum from the back of the woman’s back. She always had the same reaction but, for some reason, Regina’s truly unnerve her.

The taxi finally stopped in front of one of those residential houses and Regina pointed at it, the cold atmosphere of the car growing ticker for a second before Emma pointed at Peter “Would you like me to take care of it?”

“I got it” Regina said, her hands already going towards her purse and extracting the total amount the man had achieved “140 Peter, you know why” She said as she moved back towards her seat and opened her door noticing slightly late that Emma had already opened her own door and was waiting for her outside with a cocky grin.

Regina sighed as she eyed the blonde in the split second she needed to open up the door and encounter the self-proclaimed writer. The woman was nice but the way she carried herself made Regina’s skin boil and that only fueled her some dull, but still there, anger of having being pushed towards the floor only because a bouquet.

The blonde, who clearly didn’t really give up, smiled at her and helped her close the door behind her something that, even if Regina was still furious thanked her inwardly as she still felt a little dizzy.

“I just think that it’s an incredible complicated ritual for something that’s got 50/50 shot of getting it right” The green-eyed woman said as Regina searched for her keys on her now open purse.

“Your opinion is certain a refreshing one” She said, surprising even herself with the quickness on the comeback and the little smile that tugged her lips when she saw the slightly surprised look on the other woman’s eyes for a second.

“I’m just pointing at the hypocrisy of it” Emma replied, her own temper taking the best of her while she stood and eyed Regina, her own posture changing slightly.

“That’s so noble of you” Regina shot back, not caring in the slightest that Peter could hear them or the fact that she barely knew the woman in front of her. Emma was certainly a gentlewoman in many ways but in giving her opinion.

“And that isn’t something that you also like about Mal?” A voice inside her head reminding her seconds before she answered back to Emma’s words.

“Do you also are one of those who thinks that the kids should know that the DisneyWorld isn’t real? Because really, someone needs to tell them”

Her voice was now slightly low and when she saw the way Emma’s eyes glowed triumphantly she bit the interior of her right cheek.

“So you are implying that marriage is as real as the world of Disney” Emma finished with a triumphant glint and what looked a lot like a quick wink.

Emma wanted to laugh a little at the brunette woman, she was certainly entertaining to talk to her and she was helping her to not think about Lily or about anything related to her.

Regina, on the other hand, was quickly forgetting her gratitude towards Emma and, with a sigh, she answered back.

“I don’t know why I’m having this conversation but yes, marriage, like everything important in life, isn’t easy, cynicism on the other hand… “ She didn’t need to finish her sentence so she sighed and walked straightly towards her house. “It has been interesting meeting you Emma”

The blonde nodded and, waiting until Regina was almost reaching the entrance door of her house, asked in a sing-songed tone that made Regina smile a little even if the woman had managed to get on her nerves “Do you have any more weddings this weekend?”

“Goodbye” The brunette replied, opening her door and entering inside.

Emma chuckled and entered in the taxi, mumbling her direction to the driver and leaning back on the backseat. Regina had been an interesting distraction during one of the longest weddings she had ever need to attend and while she was grateful for the mystery that the other woman had turned out to be she sighed, wishing to be able to see marriage as the brunette obviously did.

“Am I that cynical?” She asked herself while looking at her hands. Something big and brown caught her eye and bending she found a very used notebook that clearly wasn’t hers.

Opening it she could read Regina’s name alongside with her surname and the direction they had just abandoned. “Could you…” She started, calling for Pete and already thinking of what she could say to the woman inside that house after obviously pissing her off. “Never mind” She decided. Maybe it would be better to wait and do something in order to ask for forgiveness

Emma knew she was a cynical most of the time but she still felt bad about the way she had handled the woman. It wasn’t Regina’s fault her moodiness whenever she attended a wedding after all.

Passing a few more pages and smiling when she saw the neat cursive calligraphy of the brunette she tried to see whenever the woman would be free enough for her to return the Filofax.

“Would she like some flowers? She muttered as the taxi drove her away from Regina’s apartment.

Apartment that was now light up while the woman cleaned her face from the make-up and disrobed, putting the twenty sixth dress on the tiny wardrobe she used for all the rest of gowns she had ever need to use. The sari was already there and when she finally managed to close the door with every piece of fabric inside the two white doors she sighed happily.

Sitting on the couch and pretending to not have heard the wardrobe’s door creaking open at her back she grabbed the few newspapers she had yet to read, discarding the politics themed ones and grabbing the wedding vows.

“Come here” She smiled a little, her sour mood because of the conversation she had just had with the blonde woman disappearing as she started to read her favorite’s journalists work. One that signed as Anna Swan.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Partial Disclaimer: (Mal’s sentences aren’t mine and almost all her character is simply a complete rewriting of Cass, the original character of the movie so, sadly, I can’t say anything about her)  
> A/N As you are going to see I’ve changed a few points of view from the movie to the fic, this is because I wanted to explore a little some other characters in moments that would be interesting seeing things from afar instead only from two main points of view. I hope you all like those changes.

Emma yawned slightly as she approached the entrance of the New York Journal, the first rays of sun of a lazy Monday rose and bathed the city with their light and as a few passersby entered also on their own buildings the blonde woman looked at her watch and sighed. The rest of the weekend had been completely uneventful and she already had the sinking feeling she always felt whenever another week started on the journal. Another wedding to hunt, brides to meet and thousands of other petty things that she was already very tired of.

However, the dark turmoil on her thoughts cleared up a little when she entered on the building and she saw the piercing eyes of none other but Will Scarlet. The tall man was trying to talk with someone of Politics but the little woman he was trying to talk with smiled politely before walking away.

“Bad luck again?” She asked, making the man grumble and punch the button of the elevator.

“One day I’m going to make her look at me” He replied, glancing at Emma and noticing the dark bags product of lack of sleep on the usually cheerful woman. “Trouble sleeping?”

Emma shrugged, not wanting to explain her friend how she had been thinking about a certain brunette all weekend. Strangely not even after coming up with a plan she had managed to quench the feeling that she had done something wrong. And that was really a first.

“Maybe when she gets the flowers delivered…” She thought while touching the bridge of her nose as the elevator carried both her and Will towards their floor. The man was still looking at her, talking about something that Emma hadn’t even paid attention to.

“So” Will was saying when Emma’s thoughts returned back to the present “Did you see how Jefferson hit a walk-off in the ninth?”

The blonde repressed a face and shook her head. Will loved sports, almost every type and a few others that Emma was pretty sure he had come up with back in his university days. Emma loved also sports but as the lone wolf she was she almost felt bored whenever she tried to see a match with the over enthusiastic man.

“I work on Saturdays, remember? You even called me” She said as they approached Emma’s desk, the place was already full with old notes and a few cups of coffee and the blonde sighed once again. She had almost finished the piece so that wasn’t really a problem but thinking about any other line about happy new leads was starting to make her nauseous. “Before I forget” She added when Will nodded and muttered something under his breath that Emma didn’t catch “From the happy couple”

She extracted a little card box with a piece of cake from the weekend’s weeding and tossed to his friend, the cake had been fairly good to be truthful and not like many other she had tasted in where the meringue seemed to be perpetual obligation.

“Oh, thank you mate” Will replied, catching the box in midair and opening it, grinning and already grabbing a piece of it. The man loved sugary treats and it wasn’t the first time when Emma grabbed something for him. Feeling how her mind was already going back towards Regina and the little talk they both had had on the taxi she focused back on Will who, as he always did, was already mocking the blonde “… you were doing the electric slide.. How did it go?”

Emma wanted to roll her eyes at her friend but refrained, knowing that Will only wanted to make her smile, something that he managed to accomplish quite a few times over any normal week.

“You know, the usual, the bride’s gown sparkled like the broom’s eyes when he saw the love of his life walk down the aisle…” Those were the lines she used over and over again and so far she had been liked- adored, by her readers.

“I don’t understand how you are not getting laid” Will said after blinking, the people at their sides glancing quickly at them with curiosity as they hurried to finish things like every other Monday morning. Emma chuckled and walked away “Will…”

Her voice wasn’t raised or broken but the man understood that he needed to drop that particular subject.

“I was only saying that your pages are the most read ones of the entire paper, every single woman opens them first thing in the morning and read the latest big wedding you have covered. Brides can kill to be written by you”

Emma shrugged and seated on her desk, extracting Regina’s Filofax from her leather bag while tapping the fingers of her left hand over the pc’s screen, waiting to the machine to become alive for another day.

“You could start affairs with women that they would never bother you ever again” Will was saying, sighing a little too dreamily for Emma’s tastes. Coughing and smiling a little to soften the blow she dismissed the words of his friend and pointed to the Filofax.

“It’ doesn’t matters because you are now looking at my ticket out of this section”

She had been thinking about a particular idea all over the weekend and even if she still had her doubts it was true that if she managed to do it she would be free to write anything else about brides, grooms and any other corny and sappy story about two soon-to be-married couple.

Truth was that she still felt bad for even considering the idea. Regina and her may had clashed but she hadn’t done anything to her…

“Keep on dreaming, the boss would never make you free Swan” Will’s voice were mixed with a smug smile that made Emma cringe inwardly. The man was right; the boss would never let her be free, not in a million years.

Unless she, of course, tried what she had been thinking about all weekend.

“Go away” She mumbled, eliciting a frown from her best friend. Emma didn’t bother to acknowledge that, too immersed already on what she was going to present to her boss once the first morning meetings were over.

Meanwhile I another part of the town Regina was about to enter to work with a cup full of black coffee.

Her weekend had been completely uneventful and after a few calls to Mal (who had ended up being unanswered) she had pretty much being inside the place cleaning and preparing the guest room for Zel.

“Wonder how that Emma is fairing up today” She thought briefly, shaking her head a little as she recalled the brief but intense talk with the blonde woman. For some reason she had been unable to forget her.

A taxi honked at her left, making her focus on the smirking dirty blonde woman that was looking at her with a satisfied smirk.

Regina chuckled as they both crossed the door of their office, the glass of the door glowing under the sun for a second as it opened and closed behind them.

“What?” Mal asked finally while battling her eyelashes as innocently as she was able to do “I wasn’t going to come to work in my bridesmaid dress”

Certainly what she was wearing in that moment wasn’t the purple abomination of two nights ago but a pair of pants and a shirt that clearly was from a man and not some clothes from her own wardrobe. Something that, against all odds, still suited her better that what Regina would probably have come across in that situation. Not she usually found herself into one of that of course.

Regina was used by now to Mal’s antics so she simply smirked, leaving behind the blonde woman and the residual anger she still felt towards her.

“A two days walk of shame is definitely better” She replied sweetly as they both walked through a corridor, crossing with a few coworkers in serious need of coffee. Apparently she had been the only one who had decided to grab some coffee before trying what they had at the office. For that she only stood a little taller, enjoying the warmth that seeped from the Styrofoam cup.

“Well, how about you?” The dirty-blonde woman replied as she tried to fight back what looked like a yawn “You were there even less than I was, did you meet someone?” The woman laid one hand on the main door of the office, her eyes tingling with mischievousness as she turned to look at Regina’s face.

The words were said half mockingly and Regina had the sudden need to answer affirmatively to that question but, after a second of thought she decided against it. Emma wasn’t someone, just a stranger who had decided to engage in a discussion with her for some reason.

“Ridiculous question I see” Mal answered for her as they entered in the open concept office, Regina refrained herself to say something and, instead, chose to approach Lacey, the pale girl who was drinking already the horrible concoction of the office coffee while trying not to fail asleep in front of her computer. Smiling dopily at two women from production the receptionist turned her head towards both Mal and Regina, the first one still rolling her eyes at her friend while the brunette asked the question it had been bugging her since Saturday evening.

“Hi Lacey, have you seen my Filofax? I can’t find it anywhere” The young woman looked enviously o Regina’s coffee for a second before answering a curt no that Regina repeated. She hadn’t seen the brown leather book since Friday albeit she was sure that she had used it sometime Saturday morning. Either way it didn’t seem to be anywhere and she was starting to feel quite hapless. It was like her to lose something like this.

At her side Mal tripped a little and grabbed to the edge of Lacey’s desk, the amount of alcohol she still had on her organism must have been high and Regina kept that information on the back of her head. The dirty blonde woman was going to probably ask an ibuprofen sometime near midday.

“Well, I will keep searching then” She replied with a smile on the direction of the gothic girl. It was actually something that when she had first seen her had make Regina want to think twice about letting Robin know her opinion about her. The outfit and the attitude were challenging but the girl had worked hard from the first day as an intern. Regina was quite proud of herself to have talked with Robin at the end and make him interview her a few years ago.

“By the way” She said making Mal grump at her side when they both halted mid-step, making the taller woman almost fell over once again. “Did you get the catalogue pages? Robin wanted them first thing today”

Lacey shook her head as she was already rising the big cup filled to the brim with the watery coffee.

“Don’t worry then, I will get them from Production” The brunette replied before moving away. She already was starting to feel how her mood was getting foul but she refused to get nervous or negative, not so close to her boss.

“Attagirl” Mal sing-songed as they walked through the open area, the sound of telephones and faxes already filling the air “Show her who is the boss”

Regina scoffed at that, both Mal and her knew that she didn’t like to think about her being the boss of no one. Even if she, technically, held some responsibility inside the place, particularly towards her friend who was now trying to get on her nerves.

“I’m not the boss” The woman replied, looking pointedly at Mal’s smirk as she said the sentence that she had already repeated over and over again.

“You’re the boss assistant, same dif, what’s the good of your job if you can’t abuse the power?”  Regina growled at that and kept walking even when they passed where Mal was supposed to stop.

“Mal, go to Accounting”

The dirty-blonde haired woman rolled her hair and tossed her hair back, making a few people already working look at her as she said in her deepest voice “Now you’re bossy” as she turned and approached the partially clean desk in where she was supposed to work.

Something that, Regina thought as she walked towards her own office with a smirk on her lips, hadn’t occurred since years ago. The woman always managed to avoid the job and just kept Regina’s company while she feigned to be doing something.

That was another thing that Regina had found rather quickly Mal was pretty good at; look as if she was doing something.

Once inside her office, next to Robin’s now dark cubicle, she sat and started rummaging through the many papers and notes she had left there the week before. She was quite sure that she had grabbed the Filofax back on Friday   afternoon but now it seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

“Where the hell did I put that thing?”

The answer to that question would be very easily be said by Emma who, after calling the florist and being assured that her flowers were going to be received at the hour she had requested them to do so she sighed and marched to the boss’ office.

New York Journal had always been almost entirely financed by the Society column and after Emma’s addition the wedding pages had turned out to be their goose that laid gold eggs. That was almost the entire reason she had get stuck on that part of the journal instead of keep escalating through it. And as much as she loved Eugenia Lucas as her boss she knew she deserved to write about something else than just nuptials.

Walking between the many desks that seemed to be one on top of another in a few places she finally managed to get to main office. The door was already closed and through the ground glass that covered half the door she could make the profile of the older woman, the distorted version of Eugenia’s eyes not even close to what the real look could make anyone to feel. No matter if you were still a newbie or an already seasoned journalist.

Exhaling loudly and looking at her right where Will was already trying to talk with the same girl he was trying to talk to a few hours before Emma turned and opened the door. She knew full well that the best way to approach a subject with Eugenia was actually shoving it to her face.

“I have a great idea for the front page of the section” She said, smiling and trying to look as charming as she could under the stern gaze of the older woman.

Her lips quivered for a second when Eugenia instead of looking at the Filofax she had just put in her desk closed her eyes and sighed, looking every bit as tired as she probably wanted Emma to see.

“How many times I’ve already heard this Swan?” She asked, a pure look of exasperation crossing her pupils and dusting away the bits of tiredness that still glowed for a second before disappearing as she locked her pupils with Emma.

The blonde woman gulped as lowly as she could before she tried to explain herself. She had still doubts and a part of her wanted to reason with her brain that the flowers and the fact that she wanted to see Regina again and actually gave her back the Filofax would be enough to reward the woman. The other part, the part in where she still had some kind of feelings knew that what she was about to do, if Eugenia gave her green light, was going to be her door to another section, true, but also something not entirely correct on the moral balance.

“I will explain it to her” Emma thought before starting to fight against the stubborn chief editor of the section.

“It’s a great idea…”

She couldn’t say anything else; Eugenia was already answer her with a stern look and a dismissal move of her right hand.

“As great as your idea about how we needed to raise awareness of the price fixing that almost all the wedding bakeries use?”

Emma opened her mouth a few times; she knew that that hadn’t exactly be one of her brightest ideas. Rising her hands she tried to fight the few seconds Eugenia seemed to be given to her.

“Flour costs pennies per ounce. That’s an 800% mark-up” The blonde finally retorted, wincing inwardly knowing that she hadn’t really surprise her boss, they had both had that discussion more than a few times and each time Eugenia seemed to be less surprised than the previous one.

“It is but Emma, no one cares” The older woman was already tuning her off and Regina planted the palm of her hands in the wooden desk of her superior, still not sure of what she was going to say next. She needed an opportunity to show Eugenia that she as far superior that what she gave her credit for.

“What about the piece I wrote about the exploitation of workers in lace factories? That’s a killed one and you can’t tell me otherwise” She was almost pleading now and Eugenia knew it as much as the few people who were already eavesdropping the conversation at the other side of the door.

“Emma, that’s not what people want to read about in the style section and you know it” Eugenia answered, looking back at her and making a face that Emma didn’t feel sure what to feel about it. “They want to read fun stories and since our advertises want to read the same human-stories filled with upbeat details we need to give them that. The section practically finances the entire paper; we can’t publish things like the ones you want”

Emma sat herself on the edge of the chair that was in front of Eugenia’s desk and grabbed a pencil; playing with it and making it dance between her fingers while trying to make the other woman understand her own point of view.

“We are now making money instead of writing stories?” She finally said, making the other woman flinch at that. Emma was true about that one but it wasn’t Eugenia’s place to change anything and they both knew it.

“Emma… get out” The white- haired woman finally said with a stern look and her right hand pointing at the door where already a little group was watching at the two of them, looking at the office with a few smug smiles on their faces. If Emma hated something was losing and so she clenched her jaw and attacked again.

“I know that that wasn’t what the paper needs but this woman had been in seven weddings only this year” She managed to say pointing at the Filofax as her boss opened and read the flowery handwriting of a few notes that were written here and there between appointments and numbers that Emma didn’t fully understand.

Noticing that she had Eugenia’s attention Emma continued. “She was in two on Saturday alone, that’s how I met her. It’ll be an incise look of how the wedding industry had transformed an... Important rite of passage into just a corporate revenue stream”

She stilled, her mind going back to a few years back and what Lily had said to her. “Careful there Swan” She thought before turning her eyes back to Eugenia’s who, as politely as she could considering her brass attitude, smiled at her for a second before returning back to the Filofax, her eyes reading a few more things before closing it.

“It would be made in a fun, upbeat, cheerful way ok? I just… I can’t keep working on Commitment, I’m literally dying there” Emma continued, lowering her making the other woman look at her sternly from the other side of the desk. The blonde wasn’t really sure if the other woman was really listenting to her or just playing with her behind her perfect pocket face so she waited, crossing her fingers and hoping for the best.

“I need you covering weddings Emma, that’s what you are good about” The older woman finally said, standing up and giving the agenda to the blonde.

“If you don’t start giving me feature stories I’m going to quit” Emma replied, swallowing hard when the older woman looked at her from the edge of her glasses for a second, considering her threat.

She knew that what she was doing was risky; she was good, question was if she was good enough to stop Eugenia to kick her in that very same second. And then her journal career would be over.

The older woman pressed her lips together and nodded shortly after long seconds of silence and cool glances. “I’m going to give you one chance. If I don’t like whatever you send me you will get stuck back on Commitments with that ridiculous beautiful face of your permanently lighted up with a smile. Understood?”

Emma nodded quickly and let Eugenia opened her own door, making the noisy ones pretend that they had to do things far more important than just listening to Emma’s rants. The blonde scowled for a second before smiling; her fingers tapping the surface of the Filofax as she started to create the beginning of the article inside her head.

“How many dresses can she possibly own?” She asked to herself as she seated on her desk and started writing a brief introduction of the article.

Meanwhile, back to the other side of town Regina and still very hungover and bored Mal were looking at the new photos of the fall catalogue. At least Regina was looking at them since the dirty blonde haired woman was too busy retouching her hair tips with a stolen pair of scissors.

“Do you think he would like this?” Regina asked for the third time in the same minute as she rearranged the photos once again. She knew that had already talked twice with Marketing and every time they show her almost the same photos with little to none good set ups.

“Yes I do” Mal answered while fighting back a yawn “I think those photos will cause Robin to take you into his office and make sweet love to you for hours and…”

Regina hit the back of her friend’s head with one of said photos while shooting daggers at her and sending a quick thanks to her dark complexion; the blush she was able to felt wasn’t as noticeable as it could have been if Mal would have be the one blushing. None that her friend blushed but still…

“Mal” She mumbled through gritted teeth.

The other woman kept retouching her tips without glancing back at her friend, the ghost of a smile on her lips for a second “Tell me that crush of you is the reason you work so hard and I will stop. But I must say you that it’s upsetting”

Regina sighed and shook her head feeling another wave of exasperation and embarrassment washing over her. She had a crush on her boss, she knew it was borderline pathetic but she couldn’t see the man any fault. He was… the man that her mother would have wanted for her.

“I just like my job, ok?” She finally said, rising one of her hands and tossing her hair back while the other still hold the picture she had used on Mal’s head.

Said woman laughed and raised one finger, moving it in a “no” fashion “You just think that one day Robin will wake up, realize that he is in love with you so he’ll make some grand gesture…”

In the middle of her rant a man entered the little office in where they both were with a big bouquet of flowers, every single one of them different and perfectly arranged. Mal raised her brows and stopped while the giant man (“T. Iny” if she was reading correctly the tag firmly sewed on his breast pocket) looked at both of them and, reading at the note he held said Regina’s name.

“That’s me” The brunette replied automatically, smiling and saying a quick thank you to the now retreating guy. Mal opened her mouth a few times, her speech completely forgotten by now as she eyed the precious flowers and mentally thinking how much the little detail could have cost to whoever that had sent it.

Her hangover mind didn’t provide her the exact amount of money but she had the feeling that it was quite the number so as Regina looked for any type of note between the flowers and looked completely in awe by them she tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t jealous albeit yes a little bit impressed. Her friend, the one who refused to have a date with anyone because she was in love with a man that clearly didn’t deserve her, had gotten one of the most expensive and beautiful flowers she had ever seen. Albeit she wasn’t going to say that to Regina, not so simply at least.

“I spend two days in bed with a guy and you get flowers. Nice”

Regina didn’t answer her right away, her eyes twinkling softly when she finally raised her head and looked at her. Mal’s heart clenched for a second, realizing that either the note was from Robin or she was really missing something.

“There is no note” The brunette finally said, her voice faltering for a second and Mal sighed. That was far worse than an actual note and she mentally cursed whoever that had sent the flowers. She really doubted that they were from Robin but opted for not saying anything.

“Gi, you don’t seriously think they’re from your dream guy, do you?” She asked, smiling as sarcastically as she could. Truth was that if they weren’t from him she didn’t see from whom else could be but she really didn’t want the guy for her friend.

As Mal turned back to look at the flowers Regina swallowed her pride and called Lacey, only a few steps away from where they were, and, smiling, she handed the girl the bouquet.

“Could you please take these to my desk for me?” She asked to the gothic girl who grabbed them and struggled for a second as she realized that in fact the whole set of flowers weighed more than what she would have imagined.

As she watched the petite woman retreat Regina turned towards Mal and lowered her voice as much as she could, biting her lower lip on the process.

“Stop saying that, nobody knows”

Mal snorted at that and in an equally low voice answered with as much cynicism as she could muster “Everybody knows Gi, except Robin”

Regina opened her mouth to reply to that when Lacey turned seconds before she crossed completely the doorjamb and nodded quickly “It’s true”

The two women shared a look as the gothic receptionist left the office. One of them completely mortified while the other snickered; Mal was about to say something towards Regina when the elevator doors opened, letting a giant dog enter the place. The big animal barked happily to Regina who, kneeling, embraced the strong body of the dog when he launched at her. “John” The brunette said between laughs as the dog barked for a second time, happy to see her “Hi buddy”

Mal made a face and moved a little bit at her right side while trying to avoid the dog’s drool as much as she could. She wasn’t bothered by the dog but she really didn’t like the animal as much as Regina did. At least that was something that Mal knew for a fact that the woman loved; the dog.

Speaking of which… behind the dog a tall man appeared wearing a tailored suit and a smile that Mal suspected he knew how charming he looked with it. To be truthful she didn’t hate the man but seeing Regina behaving like this one day after the other was something that she really despised. With a sigh she turned in time to look at the lovesick eyes Regina’s pupils turned into the second the man started to talk about how he had managed to go up and down one mountain or the other. Biting her tongue and remembering how the man before her was her boss she listened to their conversation while studying not only Regina but Robin’s as well.

It wasn’t a secret the crush Regina had with the man; as she had just told her the entire place knew it and as far as she knew there was even a bet between some of them about when Regina was going to be able to tell him the truth. Mal suspected that that answer would be never since she always saw and hated how her friend was reduced to a piece of goo every time the man looked or even breathed next to her. Following them down the office while making faces at the flirting (or lack of it) between the two of them she walked pass both of them and waited next to Regina’s office until the woman was finished with the man. The flowers were already there and Mal tilted her head. Would those be from Robin? The man looked certainly awkward sometimes. Maybe she had been mistaken after all and he had only needed a few months-and years, to realize her feelings…

Raising a brow and shaking her head disbelievingly almost gagged when Robin left Regina alone, the woman still smiling like a teenager.

“Oh my god…” She started, only to be shushed by her friend in a way that made Mal smile, that was the Regina she knew, the one that was so hidden that was almost impossible to see it.

She was about to answer to that when Robin’s voice could be heard at her back; the man was frowning and pointing at the interior of his now lighted up office. “Did you put a breakfast burrito on my desk?”

Mal narrowed her eyes and waited for Regina’s answer, one that she really hoped wasn’t the yes she knew it would be.

“I thought you may be hungry” The brunette finally replied with a shy smile and trembling hands. Mal was already on her breaking point; as far as she knew men and women alike were to play with them and in the case someone fell in love with someone that would be better than what Regina was displaying now.

“That’s why I love you” Robin said with a final smile before entering into her office, leaving a dazzled Regina behind who replied dreamily “I love you too”

Not caring in the slightest that they both were at work Mal approached her friend and slapped her, making Regina open her eyes and take a step backwards, a flash of shame covering of pupils for a second.

“Yes, I needed that” She said seconds before as she massaged her cheek while Mal sighed and walked off back to Accounting. “Back to a few numbers and headaches far easier than this” She thought, smiling a little to one pretty girl from Shipping.

Well, she could try to make things better, at least while her headache was still present and her phone buzzed every few minutes with messages from the wedding guy (Philip?)

From her part Regina passed the rest of her day trying to find her Filofax and working as much a she could. She suspected that once her sister arrived at her home and knowing the feisty red-head as she knew her it was going to be a nightmare to try to even work from home. Something that she did more often than not.

Chuckling while she saw that it was indeed time to go Regina thought about her sister again. It had been almost seven months since they had saw each other and as much as they talked from time to time (mostly about the guys Zelena met and dumped too quickly for Regina to follow all) she had the bittersweet feelings she always had whenever she knew she was going to see her.

Nodding at Mal, who was now looking at her slightly better after her ibuprofen dose at midday, she stood and looked at her phone, mentally thinking about how much time she was going to need to go for her sister and prepare herself from the night’s party.

Which was Lacey talking about as both Mal and her walked past the reception.

“… So don’t forget my engagement party tonight” The curvaceous girl smiled warmly to Regina as she thanked her once again her help with it. The brunette nodded and hold the door for Mal as they both exited to the heat of may’s sun.

“Do you want to come to my home before the party?” The woman asked her as soon as they were away from privy’s ears “Some guys from Shipping are going to bring tequila and bubble wrap”

Regina laughed when she saw the look her friend gave her, already imagining the idea of “party” Mal wanted to throw before the actual one.

“Sounds fun” She started with a smile “But I can’t, Zel is coming tonight and I want to meet her at the airport”

Mal’s short lived excitement was transformed into a pout and as they both walked down the street she interlaced her arm with Regina’s pretending to be thinking intently as she talked. ”Wouldn’t be great to have someone who could do that for you?” Wriggling her brows she continued as Regina scoffed “You know, yellow cars or black sedans… I’m usually more for the second ones but…”

Regina kept talking, pocketing her hands and moving slightly away from Mal’s once they arrived to the intersection. She needed to pick up her car and go to the airport before the real rush hour started or she was going to get stuck.

“I want to pick her up” She said looking at her friend “She is my sister and you know her… she would probably need help so…”

Mal rolled her eyes at that but kept her mouth shut, she was already walking on thin ice because of the whole Robin thing and Zelena was another thing that she preferred not to talk with Regina much being the woman as stubborn as she was.

“Wouldn’t wanna be you…” She mumbled before walking away, rising her hand and trying to pick up a taxi. And there it was the reason she tried not to go to work from some guy’s apartment. The taxi was always a pain in the ass.

At the other side of the road with her hands perfectly positioned Regina was mentally listing everything she had prepared for her sister’s arrival. Even those pop tarts the woman was so fond of (She also was but that was beside the point in that moment) “Maybe she wants to come over to the party” She thought, she doubted it but Zel had always managed to surprise her so it would be better if she told her that she was, in fact, going out Monday night. That way she would see that she wasn’t as dull as the younger woman told her she was from time to time.

Swallowing and starting the engine she passed by Mal’s taxi and drove towards the airport.

Yes, she thought before listening to the music of the radio while trying to think about anything else, it was going to be interesting to see her little sister once again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh, if you remember the film there is going to be a little Robin/Regina interaction and this time it will be from Regina’s point of view. Don’t worry since we all know that Regina is going to end up with Emma but please bear with me in those scenes between Regina and Robin. There is going to be only a little more of them! (And the kiss, that’s going to be tricky)  
> Enough of me; enjoy!

The sound of voices spoken in many different languages surrounded Regina as she watched the doors from where Zel was going to appear. She could feel the nervous butterflies on her stomach at the perspective of seeing her younger sister once again and, looking nervously at her watch, she swallowed and smiled, blinking rapidly while trying to look as excited as she knew she should be.

A stream of newcomers started to cross the doors. Some of them were talking animatedly while others looked for someone in the multitude that encircled the brunette. However, even with the mass of people blocking everything in front of her, Regina could distinguish Zel’s fiery red hair without any problem.

As the smirking young woman approached her Regina looked at her sister and winced internally as she always did.

The woman was beautiful and she was very well aware of that fact. From her perfectly coifed and coppery like hair to the expensive shoes she was wearing the woman exuded confidence and glamour in a way that Regina had never thought possible for herself. The clear eyes of the woman twinkled when she saw her older sister and Regina found herself engulfed by the soft and flowery scent of that hair in less than a second after that.

Laughing and looking at her once again Regina grabbed her sister’s hands and gave it a squeeze eliciting a soft laugh from the other woman.

Yes, Regina admitted to herself as she nodded quickly, she always missed her sister terribly, even if they were complete opposites.

Looking at the meagre luggage the redhead was carrying she raised her right brow; Zel was an important part of the fashion sector back in Italy and she usually showed that not only on her obsession for details on the clothes she usually but also in the amount of said clothes she always carried with her wherever she went.

Hugging the slender frame of the younger woman once again and paying no mind to a few groups that were laughing and chatting at her right she pointed at the luggage: “Since when did you start to travel so lightly?”

Zel laughed and winked to a man that had been waiting silently at her side until now. Regina hadn’t looked at him twice but now she realized the different luggage the man was holding while looking at the red-head with a love-sick eyed look. Wincing sympathetically, Regina turned her look towards Zel and managed to give her a short nod followed by an uncomfortable hum. That was her sister, always the one who managed to make the heads turn and men and women alike fall for her no matter what she did or what she said.

“I always meet the nicest people in planes you know” The red-head said and Regina noticed how the woman’s accent had changed once again due to the six months on Italy. Linking her right arm with Zel and giving the man a knowing look she turned and smiled at her sister making herself think about how much she had actually missed her.

“Let’s go” She finally said while moving away from the mass of people “I’ve parked on P9”

Zel nodded and walked with her leaving the man alone to carry her luggage behind them while Regina thought briefly if Mal’s pre-party wouldn’t have been a better option.

Biting her lower lip and shaking her head she maneuvered through the people while her sister started to talk about the new fashion magazine that had asked her to cover a particularly important firm back on Milan. Barely hearing her, the brunette sighed inwardly and tried to smile brightly. That was the problem between her sister and herself; they were alike in many things and they loved the other as much as any other pair of siblings would do but they were completely different people and that always made Regina feel exhausted whenever she was with her sister more than a few minutes.

Feeling a headache starting to grown on the back of her head, she drove towards her apartment while Zel kept talking endlessly about the cute boy that had been left on the airport with a look of complete confusion written on his face.

It didn’t take long to Regina to reach her home and, while her sister opened the car’s door and walked inside, she was left with the heavy luggage and her keys balancing precariously on top of the mountain of suitcase filled to the brim with what appeared to be the latest items of the fashion show Zel was talking about.

“What about Oscar?” She asked as they both entered in the old, yet still working, elevator that was at the right side of the entrance hall of the house. She managed to hide a smile when she saw her younger sister pale a little when the old thing trembled for a second before moving; Zel had always been afraid of those places and a part of Regina had chosen the little place with the idea of seeing her sister making the face she was now looking at.

Oscar had been one of the men Zel had talked about regularly. Regina didn’t exactly think that neither the man nor her sister had something serious going on but it had looked as serious as Zel usually liked her relationships to be.

The redhead muttered something before starting a long rant about how incredible the man was albeit a little bit clingy.

“He wanted to come with me but I asked him for some space” The younger woman said as Regina managed to open the door while holding one handbag with her teeth. Her sister, completely unfazed by her efforts to keep her luggage in one piece, entered in the apartment while mimicking Oscar’s voice.

“Oh” She said once they were inside, her green eyes taking into consideration the apartment that Regina had bought five months ago finally moving away from the even tinier place she had been living in with Mal. “It’s so tiny and cute!”

Regina, who was now closing the door and placing her sister’s luggage on the nearest empty place, merely nodded and didn’t take into consideration her sister’s veiled comment. The place wasn’t big or luxurious but when she had seen it for the first time she had known that she, in fact, wanted it. It was over compartmentalized and didn’t have any magical views but it had that something that had made her want to own the place and considering that she had indeed managed to bought it for herself she was quite proud of her achievement.

“Yes, well…” She started to say only to be cut off by her sister appraisal of how good it was to be finally home. Regina couldn’t really say anything against it since she knew how much her sister’s work made her travel from one place to another so as she dropped the keys and turned on the lights she finally closed the main door and turned towards the younger woman only to find her looking at the tiny photograph of their parents wedding.

She had kept the photo even years after their father had asked her to not do it adducing the pain that always made him feel whenever he saw the photo framed next to Regina’s bed. Once she had finally moved out the house their father had bought her a special frame with her initials craved on the back and had given it to her with the photo attached to it. She had kept it like that ever since and seeing her sister looking at the photo where both of their parents were smiling at each other in the faded black and white picture made her heart swell. It was in those little moments when she felt not only care but genuine love for her sister and so she smiled and hummed when the redhead commented on their mother’s age.

The woman had married quite young and her hair, albeit black on the photo, had been the same auburn color Zel had (albeit she liked to enhance the color making it more red than anything else every now and then) her eyes were bright and completely focused on Henry from who Regina had inherited her Latina looks.

“It was the perfect wedding” Regina found herself whispering and as she smiled lovingly at the photo she knew that it was true; it had been the perfect wedding. “The boathouse, the band, the ceremony at sunset…” She listed, feeling her whole body tingling with the feeling she always had whenever she thought about weddings. She had been in a few in where the bride had wanted a ceremony on the boathouse but she had never seen something as perfect as their father had told to both Zel and her over and over again when they were little.

Zel nodded and pointed at the white dress, a blur on the original photo but still recognizable enough “Except that dress, the synthetic lace and inverted box pleats were something…”

Regina blinked away and counted to ten before answering her sister. There they went again; being completely different.

“I think it was perfect” She finally answered while Zel put the photo back on the coffee table where it had been.

“Well, they really loved each other” She said and the brunette hummed knowing that neither her sister or her were going to change their views; for Zel the wedding had been incredible but for Regina it meant the unreachable that she wanted to achieve at some point one day and being stubborn as they were they would never see each other’s opinion. No matter what.

Zel kept looking around while Regina decided to go briefly through her mail, a part of her wanting to discover some note from the secret admirer that had sent the mysterious flowers. She wanted to believe that it had been Robin but she wasn’t exactly a woman of luck and she still wanted some kind of confirmation. Her search turned out to be fruitless however and she found herself blushing when her sister handed her the different wedding announcement she had been keeping.

“What are these?” Her sister asked her with the same tone that she had used when she had knew that Regina had tried to kiss Daniel, their neighbor and best friend for a large part of Regina’s childhood, in fourth grade.

“I was going to recycle them” The brunette said quickly while grabbing the papers and fighting back a blush. Her sister knew her love for weddings and she never lost a chance to tease her about it.

“Into what? Wallpaper?” The redhead asked as Regina scoffed as she turned and placed the papers in another table she had in the middle of the tiny living room her apartment had. Walking towards the open kitchen that was at her right she mentally exhaled when Zel seated on one of the wooden chairs she had in the corner where the living room and the kitchen met, her curiosity momentarily forgotten.

“It’s just this woman” She explained as she busied herself in the kitchen counter “Anna Swan. I only keep hers. She always writes the best ones and I love how she manages to make everything looks so… perfect. The stories about the crazy proposals, the equally crazy engagements…”

While talking Regina grabbed two mugs from one cupboard and filled them with hot water. Both her sister and she preferred green tea while talking to each other and albeit Regina still had doubts if it was because it was just something they both liked it or used as something to calm their nerves she found the activity of doing the tea quite calming.

Smiling a little at the thought of Anna Swan she let herself think for a second in the woman who signed at the beginning of every wedding announcement. It was a quite known figure on the wedding world but Regina had had never the pleasure to meet her and so she tried to imagine what the woman would look like and if she would be as funny as she was on the papers.

Realizing her sister had already turned her attention towards another thing she sighed and brought a particular topic she had been thinking since she had received Zel’s message about how much she missed her and her intentions to pass a few days with her on New York.

“How long you are staying for?”

That made Zel look up from the cream she had been spreading on her skin; she had quite a pale skin that burnt easily and she had been obsessed with skin care products since her teen years. “A week or two?” She said while closing the little tube of cream and smiling at the older woman when Regina handed her the mug filled with the already steaming tea. “The fall fashion is over so I’m quite free for a few days”

Humming and smiling behind her mug Regina glanced quickly at her watch, the hour to start readying herself for the party was approaching quickly and that made her realize that she had indeed forgotten to tell about it to Zel. She knew that Mal would disagree with her about the idea of bringing the younger woman but it was the first night together after all and Regina was already feeling bad for having plans appart from her sister.

“Speaking of work. I’ve a party with the people at the office tonight, I had already promised to be there so do you want to come?”

The way Zel looked at her hands before answering her gave Regina the answer and she smiled realizing that her sister would have already something planned out before knowing if Regina would have been busy or free that night.

“I’m having drinks with some friends of Milan” The younger woman said while looking shyly at Regina once again and the woman felt her lips smiling on their own accord. That was another trait of Zel’s magic; being completely and utterly charming.

“So you’d rather have drinks with Italian models” Regina stated, her eyes twinkling mischievously as she decided to just let drop her discomfort around Zel and just enjoy her sister presence for as much as the woman stayed “Than come to my awesome party with some normal people from my office?” She continued, smiling when Zel scoffed and nodded.

“Hard to believe it huh?” The redhead asked making Regina’s turn to scoff and nod as she looked at the now quickly cooling beverage. “I will try to make it though”

Brunette head bobbed up and down in a silent nod as Regina drank her tea and Zel used that as her cue to stood and circle the kitchen counter stopping herself in front of the fridge as Regina put the mug down and listed the few beverages she had already in stock for her sister.

“There is also apple-flavored pop-tar…” She started, being outsmarted by the younger woman like almost every time she tried to win her sister on the game.

“I SAID IT FIRST!” The red head screamed and Regina rolled her eyes, her worries about her sister slowly melting away.

Meanwhile, between the apple-flavored tarts, a decent amount of mascara and too much time in front of the mirror deciding if the outfit she was going to wore was “gothic” enough or not Emma Swan, aka Anna Swan, was looking at the Filofax in her right hand while holding a faded red leather jacket on the other hand.

She had been thinking about Regina Mills and said Filofax the whole day and she had still her doubts about what she was about to do; it was true that her job was tedious and horrible in many different ways but a part of her, the one who wasn’t only the journalist but the woman knew that what she was going to try was stupid and senseless in a lot of levels. Regina had seemed a woman that truly believed in marriage, something that couldn’t be told about Emma herself. For the blonde the idea of marriage had long ago been turned into something very close to a giant joke. That, however, didn’t make the other woman’s words invalid. Did they?

At the end of the day it had been a call from her boss asking if her new idea would be ready at the end of the month when she had finally decided to, at least, try to see if Regina would be open to talk to her more than three seconds.

“I will only ask her if she wants to talk to me” She reasoned as she closed the door of her house behind her, jacket already on its place and Filofax safely tucked on her right hand. “If she does I will try to gather information, if not…”

Rising her hand for calling a taxi and muttering a quick “hello” to the cab’s driver she opened the agenda and scanned the page of that day “St Marks and A” She said while closing the brown monstrosity.

Truth was, she thought as she smirked, the woman was going to have it complicated to refuse her. And, she added to herself, judging by the beauty she was seeing her again wasn’t exactly going to be Emma’s toughest job.

At St Marks with A a particular party was starting in that moment and the rented bar was filled to the brim with people dressed up in a mix of gothic clothes and strange costumes that neither Regina, dressed in something close to a tunic she had found in the most hidden part of her closet after a few minutes of doubt in where she had decided to throw away her previous idea of a perfect outfit, and Mal, who was already on her third margarita if Regina was counting correctly, knew what they were.

At least, Regina thought while drinking from her own virgin drink, Lacey seemed to be having fun and that was what Regina had tried to give to the particular brunette secretary.

Laughing a little at Mal’s bored expression and the explicit details of what she wanted to do to a girl from Shipping the woman was telling her she almost missed Robin’s entrance on the bar.

Not that she would have been able to miss it though; the man was dressed as impeccably as always and he had clearly forgotten about the etiquette of been dressed in a gothic way since his cream colored jacket and white shirt was in clear contrast with the darks and greys of the rest of the people gathered there.

“Lacey, great party” He said while passing nearby the curvaceous girl who nodded quickly before the man walked past her.

His voice was what helped Regina locate him and she felt the strange sensation she always felt whenever he was close to her. Swallowing and looking frenetically at Mal she froze when the man finally arrived in front of her and, smiling towards Mal for a quick second, he quickly focused his eyes on her.

“You got them champagne glasses and a bottle of Cristal” She uttered as she started to play with her glass. Mal looked at her and rolled her eyes as Robin answered her and Regina found herself saying a lame joke to hide the fact that she was blushing madly.

“Nice touch” Robin said as the two of them shared a quick laugh while Mal looked too close to groan as she looked back and forth between the two of them. “I will go to the bar then, you two want something?” When the two women raised their drinks Robin turned his attentions towards Mal as Regina bitted the interior of her cheek while trying to keep her nervousness at bay. “Maybe some hair of the dog for you?”

Mal didn’t even bother to answer to that and so Robin turned and headed towards the bar, a narrow counter that was near the entrance of the place already half covered in glasses and bottles.

As soon as Robin was out of rank Mal lowered her drink after drinking it in one big gulp and clicked her tongue.

 “If he asks you you smile and say “vodka soda”, if you already have a drink you down it, you flirt with him, you have inter office sex with him, an accidental pregnancy, shotgun wedding and a life of pure bliss” She admonished as they both tried to talk between the rather large groups of people that were trying to understand each other over the loud music.

Regina looked at her friend and raised her right brow; there were times when she didn’t know if Mal was really being sarcastic or not but seeing the way the woman was looking at some newbie from Production who was talking with a few other men Regina didn’t really think that her friend was being the former.

“I don’t want him to think that I’m irresponsible” She finally said when Mal ended up her rant.

“That’s what people wants, responsible” Mal answered quickly humming sarcastically and opening her eyes comically as she played with the straw she had been giving with the drink.

“Robin appreciates me for the way I am” Regina said with a raised chin.

“What good it is being appreciated if no one is naked?” Her friend shot back with a whimper and Regina made a face at her, laughing a little against her wishes; Mal always knew what to say and it was true that she had indeed thought about that particular possibility…

When she was about to confess some of her inner thoughts with her quite intoxicated and hangovered friend Robin approached them once again and, smiling as charmingly as always, he looked at her.

“Did you get that thing I left on your desk this morning?” He asked casually while scratching the back of his neck with his left hand. Regina’s mind conjured up the beautiful flowers she had been handed and, smiling and blushing madly she opened her mouth forgetting monetarily about anything else.

“On my desk?” She asked, glancing at Mal who was now looking at Robin looking completely speechless.

“Yes, it was ok?” The man said with a dubious look on his eyes. Regina could feel her heart beating madly and she bit the corner of her lips as she nodded quickly.

“It was great” She reassured him quickly.

Robin’s answered was quick and the man still looked at her shyly “Oh, good, I was worried because we don’t really have that kind of relationship and so I was worried you would take it wrongly but…”

Regina nodded dumbly, still not believing that what she had been imagining was indeed becoming true, opening her mouth and trying to find the proper words she found herself talking to the air as Robin was called by some people from Marketing.

At her side Mal opened her mouth in the same fashion as her friend, her brain already going farther than Regina’s collapsed mind; Robin definitely wasn’t the smartest man in the pond but it looked like he had finally manage to do something right and worthy for her friend so, turning and grabbing Regina’s free hand she squeeze it and made the slightly shorter woman look at her.

“He gave me flowers” Regina muttered quickly, focusing on her friends eyes as Mal exhaled and, looking dead in Regina’s eyes talked to her friend as serious as she could.

“Stop it” She commanded “This is real life, not a fantasy. You’ve to go over there and tell him what you feel, understood?”

Grabbing her friend’s glass she pushed Regina towards where Robin was talking with two other men and looked at the back of her friend with a strange feeling of pride and worry washing over her. Downing Regina’s drink and making a face when she discovered that her friend had indeed asked for a virgin drink she turned and walked towards the bar counter thinking of what she would ask next.

Later, much much later Mal would feel bad about having turned in that moment since, thanks to that moment, the moment that followed her decision to go for a drink, the rest of this story started the way it did. For now, however, the dirty blonde haired woman asked for another Marguerite and smiled to the girl from Shipping, winking at her briefly.

Regina instead, was faced with the need of a real drink when, in the middle of her approach towards her boss, she saw her sister entering the place with her dazzling smile as present as ever, a beautiful low cut green dress that accentuated her body and her eyes that glowed for a second under the changing lights of the bar as she looked at the interior.

The amount of people in the bar prevented the younger woman to spot Regina but it didn’t prevent Robin for seeing her from the other side of the bar and so, as Regina kept walking towards him, the man waved a quick goodbye to the group he had been with and walked straightly towards Zel who had also spotted him also and was smiling at him in the same way Regina knew all too well.

Soon enough, as Regina approached the two of them, the brunette found herself with the sinking feeling that whatever was about to happen between Robin and her had just been crashed by Zel’s presence.

The redhead, smiling and battling her lashes with practice, nodded briefly at Robin before turning and smiling at her sister in a much colder way.

“Regina?” She said making said brunette snap out of her reverie and making her realize that she, indeed, wasn’t in a nightmare. Someone certainly needed to be blind in order to not see Robin’s enamored eyes so, trying to fight the ashen taste on the back of her mouth, she inhaled deeply before talking.

“Sorry” She said quickly “Robin, this is my sister Zelena”

“Zel” The woman intervened as Regina nodded quickly acknowledging her sister’s words.

“And Zel” Regina continued “This is my… sorry, I wanted to say that he is…”

“Regina is my assistant” Robin said cutting Regina’s words and making smile in gratitude knowing that she had been a second away from embarrassing herself once again. “Kinda like my right hand”

“Lucky her” Zel said tilting her head in a way that Regina knew by now that it would make everyone swoon.

“Yes, she helps me with whatever I need” Robin kept talking while  shooting a quick smile towards the brunette who was feeling more and more in need of a drink as seconds passed. “And if I don’t take enough advantage of her already today I dropped my dry-cleaning slip on her desk this morning”

Regina’s world crashed like a sand castle destroyed by the sea and she looked down for a second realizing how much it had been for her Robin’s words and how little it had actually meant for the man. Biting her lower lip and actually tasting blood she closed her eyes feeling completely stupid. “Mal is going to really laugh with this one” She thought while trying desperately to find a way to laugh at the whole incident herself.

Opening her eyes, she realized that the conversation had kept on and so Robin was already asking Zel if she wanted to drink something. The redhead nodded and winked at her as the two of them, Robin and her, walked past Regina who swallowed the bittersweet truth and shook her head when Robin called for her, asking if she wanted to drink something. She wanted but not with him or with Zel who was already smiling teasingly to him in a way that made the brunette want to have the ability to make herself appear in another different place with just a movement of her hands.

Unknown to her, the whole set of events had been witnessed by a particular blonde who, ignoring who were the couple in front of Regina, merely smiled at a group of people who stared at her for a second too long and, steeling herself for what probably was going to be quite an interesting speech, approached Regina from behind and touched her right shoulder making Regina jump and turn towards her.

The brunette was even more beautiful than the first time Emma had seen her and the blonde had the feeling that it had been the hideous purple dress the woman had been wearing the culprit for that. Even with the sad look on her eyes the woman was beautiful and Emma found herself getting nervous in front of her in a way she hadn’t feel in a really long time.

“Hi” She managed to say in what she hoped was a decent smile. “How are you?”

Regina’s reaction, a wide-open-mouthed look, was priceless and that made Emma relax a little bit. Pocketing her hands in the back of her tight-fitting jeans she tilted her head to the right and pretended to be deep in thought for a second.

“Were the flowers too much?”

As much as her question pretended to be harmless Emma found herself feeling even more nervous as Regina merely blinked for a few more seconds, something sinking on those pupils as the brunette finally seemed to hear her question and what it meant.

Smiling and humming to herself the music inside the bar she waited for her answer, the thoughts about writing her passport outside the marriage ghetto being momentarily forgotten.

“They’re from you?” Regina asked still looking at her with wide looking eyes that made Emma frown and nod quickly as Regina inhaled and exhaled a few times.

“You were the one who sent them” The brunette continued, making Emma move a little on the spot, feeling even more nervous than before.

“Aham” She nodded.

“The angry marriage hater” The shorter woman asked a third time for confirmation making Emma nod this time a little less strongly and a quite more dubiously suddenly thinking if she had indeed do something that was a little too much.

“Would you mind waiting for a second?” Regina finally asked, looking in the verge of having a meltdown. Eyeing her Emma nodded and followed the woman with her eyes as the brunette blindly opened the first door she could find and screamed as loudly as she could with her back towards the party.

Emma couldn’t exactly see her but even in the dim lights she could distinguish another party looking the screaming brunette completely astonished as Regina keep shouting something that looked close to “motherfucker” albeit Emma didn’t understand who Regina was insulting too.

Smiling a little when she saw the, until now ,perfectly poised woman (Except with the whole thong thing) screaming like that she raised one of her brows and snorted when Regina finally seemed to see that she had, indeed, interrupted another party. Closing the door between the two places, the brunette approached her again while smoothing invisible wrinkled on her clothes and smiling at her in a way that made Emma regret what she wanted to do once again.

Still not sure if she had been indeed the one who had just been insulted the blonde journalist flustered a little when the brunette picked up their conversation where they had just left it.

“You were saying?” Regina asked, breathing deeply and looking around as if she was trying to find some of the waitress that were serving bloody maries and some other beverages that Emma had still to discover.

“I just asked if you got my flowers” Emma replied, remembering what, in fact, she  had been wanting to do before seeing Regina’s distressed look a few minutes earlier. “I have a little something for you also”

Reaching for the Filofax who was now on one of the inner pockets of her jacket she felt even more intrigued when she realized that Regina seemed to be deeply interested on something that was happening at her back. Not sure if she would be able to see it without making Regina angry she continued talking as if nothing was wrong.

“You left it in the cab” She said as Regina grabbed the brown agenda and smiled in gratitude at her. The smile itself made Emma start to ramble and soon enough she found herself talking about the bikini wax date she had read about in on the agenda.

“You read it” Regina whispered under her breath, momentarily forgetting about whatever was happening at her back. Smiling and nodding quickly Emma cursed herself inwardly as she realized that, in fact, she was making everything worse by criticizing the brunette’s handwriting. One that, to be sincere, had been everything but hard to read. “You could put everything on a computer calendar you know” She finally said as she tried to make the woman in front of her interested and not only because she was supposed to start digging out for information about her love for weddings.

“I don’t need to be taken care of” Regina replied leaving Emma speechless and wanting to dig a hole for herself when she realized how patronizingly she had sounded.

“I didn’t mean to…” She started, sighing while trying to calm down. Regina had a mix of both soft and hard edges that made her feel completely hexed by her and so when she realized that the woman was already moving away from her she used a page on her book that she wouldn’t have wanted to play it in that particular situation.

“Have a drink with me” She said reaching for Regina’s arm and stopping herself in the middle of the movement.

Regina, however, looked as if she had her mind completely elsewhere when she finally looked back at Emma and so the blonde knew that she had probably lost her first opportunity to get closer to Regina in the way she had wanted to. Sighing and biting her lips she waited for the answer which came quickly from Regina’s own lips.

“Thank you for the Filofax, that was very nice for you but I don’t…”

“It’s a drink” Emma insisted the second time already knowing that she would receive the same answer as in the first time; a no.

“I’m sorry” Regina answered politely, her eyes never meeting Emma’s “I’m not going to be very fun tonight to be truthful”

“Got it” The blonde said nodding quickly. She was going to need the second part of the plan as it seemed and even if her first reaction had been to flee from there as fast as she could feeling not only bad with her decision but also completely intrigued by Regina’s demeanor the brunette’s obviously hurt feelings haunted her. That was the reason she tried to make her smile a little before actually walking off the bar.

“Maybe I will bump with you on your bikini wax”

Making the brunette scoff at that Emma took her cue and left, glancing at what had been her back until then and trying to distinguish whatever would have had Regina’s attention while talking with her. However, the place was packed and so she couldn’t figure out what Regina was looking at earlier.

At those things happened Mal had already pocketed the girl’s from Shipping address on the little purse she had brought to the party and was searching for her best friend who she caught talking with a very nice looking blonde woman who smiled and nodded at her for a second before disappearing in the crowd.

“Who was that?” She asked from Regina’s back sneaking an arm around her friend’s waist “And what do I need to do to get one?”

As it has already been said, later on Mal would feel bad because of her decision of not being with her friend in the exact moment the brunette encountered the blonde at that time. The woman also didn’t see Regina’s face or the way she was looking at where her sister was laughing at something Robin was saying. She only had eyes for the blonde tall woman and so the only thing she saw was the way Regina’s shoulders sagged as if the woman had steeled herself for something that she didn’t find herself ready for.


End file.
